Teams Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Pewter Pirates

Remove this Banner Ad

The future's uncertain, the end is always near...

Buccaneers Free-fall Continues

Tony Romo’s four first half touchdowns should be the focus, but I can’t help but think the more interesting story was taking place on the opposing sideline.

Bucs coach Raheem Morris came in second place in last year’s Coach of the Year voting. He led one of the most exciting young teams in the league to a 10-6 record. Just one year later, his Bucs are one of the very worst teams in the NFL.

Tampa has lost eight straight games. Only the Colts give up more points, and it was easy to see why on Saturday night.

The Bucs’ tackling is uniformly poor. Felix Jones rushed for 108 yards and Sammy Morris came out of semi-retirement to run for 53 more yards against a Bucs defense that is too easy to push around.

Tampa doesn’t get any pressure on the passer, which is why Romo was able to throw for 249 yards on only 30 throws with three touchdowns, with only seven incompletions.

A report surfaced Saturday that the Bucs could choose to keep Morris after the year, but take away his duties as defensive coordinator. That may be a tough sell if the Bucs finish the season on a lifeless 10-game losing streak.

The Bucs are a sinking ship. With two road games left, it’s worth wondering if Morris has coached his last game at Raymond James Stadium.
Click to expand...
 
Raheem Morris About Calls for His Firing

Raheem Morris’ “Youngry” defense is officially the worst in the league. No group has given up more points.

Tampa has lost nine straight games. They have lost the last four games by an average of 23 points-per-game.

Morris is clearly feeling the heat, and it’s starting to show up in his press conferences. He was asked Monday why he should be retained.

“I will never fire myself,” Morris said via Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times. “We go out, man, and you don’t go from being a Coach of the Year candidate to being the worst coach in the league to get fired within a year. It’s about us. It’s a little bit of everything.”

My wife happens to be sitting next to me. She doesn’t know a lot of about football, but she read that statement from Morris:

“I’d fire him just for that quote. It’s immature,” she said.

Whether Morris stays or not, he’s going to have to look in the mirror of how he handled his team’s struggles publicly and privately. There has been a lot of excuse-making instead of taking responsibility. His team collapsed when things went wrong, rather than responding to adversity. The Bucs need to examine the underlying reasons for that collapse.

Morris wants to stay the course.

“I believe in my guys. I believe in the system. I believe in the program. I believe in what we do and everybody in this building, so it’s a buying-in factor. Either you buy any or you don’t. And we want to building this thing young and we want to develop a team that goes out and wins — and wins consistently.”

Bucs ownership has three options. They can fire Morris, bring Morris back as a “lame duck” coach, or extend Morris’ contract.

The young coach has started to publicly make the case for staying by pointing out how young this team is.

“We made a collective agreement to go young when we took over this program,” Morris said. “That’s something we wanted to do. In order to upgrade in certain positions, sometimes you got to get worse before you get better.”
Click to expand...
 
Doug Martin runs past Robert Griffin III for rookie of the month

350x-9-e1351789825224.jpg

When Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III won NFL offensive rookie of the month for September, plenty of people thought it was just the first step on the road to conference rookie of the year honors.

That might turn out to be the case, but Griffin certainly isn’t without competition. Buccaneers running back Doug Martin has been named the winner of monthly honors for his work in October.

Martin ran for 296 yards in three games last month, including a 135 yard effort in Week Eight’s win over the Vikings. Martin also caught three passes for 79 yards in that game and scored two touchdowns to help the Bucs improve to 3-4 on the season. Martin had 171 receiving yards last month, showing off the kind of versatility that led the Buccaneers to trade up to take him in the first round of the draft. The Bucs have won two of their last three games as Martin and Josh Freeman have helped get the offense into a higher gear.

Griffin hardly had a bad month, but didn’t play well in last week’s loss to the Steelers and missed part of the loss to the Falcons after suffering a concussion. That was enough to get Martin the nod this time around, although we imagine Griffin will remain in the running for further prizes over the rest of the season.

Martin’s backfield mate LeGarrette Blount was the last Buccaneer to win rookie of the month honors.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 12-step plan to 2002 glory


0126bucsjpg


Dwight Smith and the Bucs were always a step ahead of the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Related

By IRA KAUFMAN | The Tampa Tribune
TAMPA -- When the smoke and the confetti cleared 10 years ago today, it all seemed worth it.
All of the Johnny Carson jokes, the paper bags covering the heads of fans at Tampa Stadium, the bad trades, the inept draft picks, the Bo Jackson fiasco, the unprecedented 14-year stretch of losing football … all of it.

All was forgiven because on the afternoon of Jan. 26, 2003, in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrated as Super Bowl XXXVII winners after a 48-21 rout of the AFC champion Oakland Raiders.

The next evening, as the team charter circled Raymond James Stadium, the Bucs and head coach Jon Gruden peered down and saw a packed facility awaiting their arrival.

"We parked the buses in the tunnel and walked out,'' recalled Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer. "My father walked first, with Jon, and he was holding the trophy as he came onto the field. It was so loud and deafening, you couldn't hear the cannons going off on the pirate ship.''

Last month, when players and coaches from the 2002 club gathered in Tampa to mark the 10-year anniversary with a reception at Bucs headquarters, powerful memories came flooding back.

Almost everyone showed up, including Gruden, running back Mike Alstott, quarterback Brad Johnson and the nucleus of the NFL's No. 1 defense – defensive tackle Warren Sapp, linebacker Derrick Brooks and safety John Lynch.

"What you saw that night was a microcosm of what we saw during the 2002 season,'' said former Tampa Bay defensive tackle Anthony "Booger'' McFarland, now a local sports radio host. "You saw everybody's personality.

"You could still hear Sapp, everywhere. Brooks was in a quiet meeting somewhere. Lynch is the guy who was going to be the spokesman. And Gruden's over there in the corner, huddling up with Brad – they're trying to figure something out.''

Bucs fans will always remember where they were when Monte Kiffin's marauding defense returned three Rich Gannon interceptions for touchdowns as Gruden raced down the sidelines in glee.

Here's the 12-step plan of how it happened and what it meant.

1. OLD WOUNDS

The 1999 Bucs dropped an 11-6 decision at St. Louis in the NFC title game and their next two playoff appearances ended with drab losses in Philadelphia. The '02 club exacted its revenge by closing down Veterans Stadium with a 27-10 victory to become conference champions for the first time.
  • "You'd get your hopes up and then Philly would ruin your dreams.'' – FB Mike Alstott
  • "The region was suffering because the Bucs couldn't get over the hump. When I came in as a free agent, I quickly realized this is the place I wanted to be. I felt it was my job to help these guys win it all.'' – WR Keenan McCardell
2. STAR POWER

The 2002 Bucs placed seven players on the NFC Pro Bowl roster – FB Mike Alstott, LB Derrick Brooks, QB Brad Johnson, S John Lynch, LB Shelton Quarles, DE Simeon Rice and DT Warren Sapp.
  • "We had special players, eventual Hall of Fame players.'' – QB Brad Johnson
  • "I don't know that any team has had that amount of talent on one roster.'' – co-chairman Bryan Glazer
  • "From Simeon, with his astrological thinking, to me and Brooks, we had something for everybody.'' – DT Warren Sapp
3. CHEMISTRY 101

For every Pro Bowler, the Bucs had a role player who contributed to a 15-4 record.
  • "Anytime you have Sapp, Rice and Keyshawn Johnson, you know we had characters, but we also had character.'' – general manager Rich McKay
  • "When somebody went out, guys stepped up and played their part." – LB Shelton Quarles
  • "There were a bunch of stars on that team, but also a bunch of lunch-pail guys.'' – G Cosey Coleman
  • "We all jelled and respected each other. We never wanted to disappoint a teammate." – DT Chuck Darby, who filled in for an injured McFarland in the postseason
4. BRAD

In his second year with the Bucs, Johnson overcame a flurry of injuries to lead the NFC with a 92.9 passer rating.
  • "We didn't give up sacks or turnovers and we grew with the system." – QB Brad Johnson
  • "Brad could take all of Jon's stuff and handle the volume. He was one smart quarterback.'' – Raiders QB Rich Gannon, the 2002 NFL MVP
  • "Brad doesn't get the attention he deserves. He got the job done and made smart decisions. He was a tough guy, but not a 'me' guy." – co-chairman Bryan Glazer
  • "I really felt Brad was our MVP that year." – coach Jon Gruden
5. DEFENSE

The Bucs led the league in total defense and pass defense that season, registering 31 interceptions while allowing only 10 touchdowns through the air.
  • "For so many years, we played three yards and a cloud of dust offense and some serious defense. Jon wasn't going to have it. When our offense came alive in the playoffs, it was over." – DT Warred Sapp
  • "I think our defense that season was better than the '85 Bears and the 2000 Ravens." – LB Derrick Brooks
6. REDEMPTION

Only die-hard Bucs fans believed Tampa Bay could go into frigid Philadelphia and upset the Eagles in the NFC title game. A 71-yard catch-and-run by Joe Jurevicius proved critical and Ronde Barber sealed the decision with a 92-yard interception return against Donovan McNabb in the closing minutes.
  • "When we won at Philly, that's when I said we're on it now." – FB Mike Alstott
  • "It's almost like we played two Super Bowls. It seemed like everything was stacked against us in Philly." – LS Ryan Benjamin
"That Philly game changed on that one play by Joe Jurevicius. We all knew what he was going through with his infant son and it felt for the first time that it was meant to be for us." – S John Lynch

"That Philly game was bigger than the Super Bowl." DT Chuck Darby

7. WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

Years of postseason disappointment faded when the Bucs hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy, emblematic of NFL supremacy.
  • "That was a very smart group, with Hall of Fame players at every level." – Raiders QB Rich Gannon
"I was hurt, but I flew out with the team to San Diego. I knew how bad Brooks wanted it, how hard Sapp worked for it. Not days, not months. They put years into it." – DT Anthony McFarland
  • "It was the culmination of a lot of hard work and it meant so much. Our fans had stuck with us through thick and thin. To finally win it all gave validation to us as a team, knowing that all the work was worth it.'' – S John Lynch
8. LEGACY

Despite winning their three postseason games by a combined 106-37 margin, the 2002 Bucs are rarely mentioned among the most dominant clubs of the Super Bowl era.

"That's one of the best teams ever and I don't think we get the credit we deserve." – LB Derrick Brooks

"That was a unique group of guys who all bought into a system. We believed in what we were doing and the more I see the success of aerial attacks today, I appreciate our group even more." – CB Brian Kelly

9. REGRETS

Tampa Bay opened their championship defense with a 17-0 victory at Philadelphia in the 2003 opener, spoiling the first game at Lincoln Financial Field. But Tampa Bay finished 7-9 amid turmoil.
  • "That 2002 team was magnificent and unique, but we should have won more Super Bowls. Coming off that championship, I felt we were poised to win another one." – DE Simeon Rice
"We had too good a team not to win a championship over that course of time. I'm still disappointed we didn't win more." – LB Derrick Brooks
  • "It was fun to be part of a Super Bowl run, but we wanted multiple championships. It felt like we had two or three in us, but everyone wanted to do his own thing." – WR Keyshawn Johnson
10. LASTING BONDS

Until last month's reunion, many of the members of the 2002 club hadn't seen each other for years. Still, the attachment among the players and between that club and the community remain strong.
  • "People fell in love with that team because they saw us as more than players. They liked us as people, and that's a connection you can't buy." – LB Derrick Brooks
  • "Those players will live forever here in Tampa. It was a beloved group of players who were together for a long period of time." – co-chairman Bryan Glazer
  • "Monday through Saturday, me and Brian Kelly had nothing in common. On Sunday, we were brothers." – DT Warren Sapp
11. AFTERMATH

Since winning it all, the Bucs are 69-91 with zero playoff wins. Jon Gruden and his successor, Raheem Morris, were fired and Tampa Bay has finished in the NFC South basement four times in the past seven seasons.
  • "You win the Super Bowl and you think you're going to do it again and again. Then you eventually realize how difficult it is." – co-chairman Bryan Glazer
12. IMPACT
  • "That game has become a trademark day in the history of Tampa Bay. Lots of people I meet can still remember the plays and the formations like it was yesterday." – coach Jon Gruden
  • "We were part of something special. It's special to share a championship. When I got here, it was 12 straight double-digit loss seasons. To stand here 10 years after the fact is pretty gratifying." – DT Warren Sapp
  • "Time has flown by and 10 years have passed very quickly. We went through such an amazing year. To go up to Philly when nobody gave us a chance and we punched them in the mouth and closed the Vet in spectacular fashion. Our offense got better as the season went on and it all came together that afternoon in San Diego." – co-chairman Bryan Glazer
 
Bucs begin extension talks with Mike Williams


mike-williams-bucs-pic-e1359487833352.jpg


Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune reports the Buccaneers have begun contract extension talks with wide receiver Mike Williams. Williams, who turns 26 in May, is entering a contract year.

A fourth-round steal in the 2010 draft, Williams has averaged 65 catches for 911 yards and eight touchdowns over his first three NFL seasons. He’s averaging 14.2 yards per reception in his career.

After a disappointing 2011 season in which Williams was exposed as incapable of carrying the load as a true No. 1 wide receiver, he enjoyed a career-best year as the No. 2 opposite Vincent Jackson in 2012. Although Williams lacks elite separation skills, he is a big, strong receiver who defeats man coverage with physicality.

Jackson makes $11 million a year. Williams should target Robert Meachem’s $6.5 million annual average as a baseline in negotiations. He’ll probably aim for $7 million a year or more.
 
Schiano says he’s “not against” starting Glennon


350x-421.jpg


The Buccaneers might not have viewed drafting quarterback Mike Glennon as a message to incumbent quarterback Josh Freeman.
But the more they talk about it, the more clear it becomes that they don’t mind it being perceived that way.

Via Dan Pompei of the National Football Post, Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano compared his third-round pick to Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, and said he thought Glennon “can play quickly,” if they need him to.

But our situation will be only if he’s needed,” Schiano said. “Or if he wins the job. Look, I’m not against that. We have a starting quarterback. It’s not like we’re looking to find a starter. But competition is competition. Mike Glennon is a fierce competitor. I knew that when he was coming out of high school. Now being able to work with him a little, you can see it on the practice field.”

It’s reasonable to think the Bucs want to have Glennon ready in a hurry, with Freeman in the final year of his rookie contract.

But with every passing report, it’s harder and harder to sell the motion that they have nothing but trust in the former first-rounder, or that they want to hitch themselves to Freeman for the long-term future.
 
Typical Schiano...


Reporter says there’s contact at Buccaneers’ OTA sessions


schiano.jpg


While perusing through some of the emails that made their way through the pipeline over the past few days to make sure I hadn’t missed anything interesting, I realized that I’d missed something interesting.

Last week, in the aftermath of a first-day-of-OTAs fight between Buccaneers defensive tackle Akeem Spence and center Jeremy Zuttah, Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune said on 98.7 The Fan that contact was indeed occurring at the team’s offseason practices.

“It’s football practice, without pads,” Cummings said. “I’ll tell you what, Greg Schiano is right on the border of getting investigated and possibly — I don’t know if they would fine him, I don’t know what the penalty is — but these guys are out there, they’re hitting. . . . There’s no pads on, but I’m telling you, the linemen, these guys are hitting. People are going down on the ground. And it’s interesting. I mean, most of this was second- and third-team guys, it wasn’t the front-line guys. So there’s a little bit of what Jon Gruden used to call ‘practice etiquette’ that I think has to be learned here, but they’re going at it pretty good.”

Cummings pointed to the Zuttah-Spence fight, and said it was a 22-man “melee” that “went on for a while” — all due to the fact that there was contact between the linemen.

“I can’t imagine it’s being ordered, I think it’s just guys being a little overzealous, trying to earn a spot,” Cummings added. “And that’s part of what this part of the season is about.”

It is, but it isn’t. Contact has been prohibited, at least on paper, since the no-pads offseason practices began. In the aftermath of the 2011 labor deal, contact was supposed to truly be eradicated from OTAs, thanks to beefed-up penalties that include the loss of practice time and fines for head coaches.

We don’t know whether contact continued over the past week or so, but it’s the kind of thing that coaches should have ensured wouldn’t occur before the sessions began — and that they should have immediately nipped in the bud. Young players always will want to prove themselves; it’s on the coaches to ensure that they know the limits before they’re put in position to test them.
 
With the recruitment (<<<can you use this word for NFL??) of an experienced secondary, one has to ask what can be expected of the Buccs in 2013?

Let's have a quick look at some interesting stats:

Ranked 13th in Scoring Points (389 @ 21 pts average) which is a three point increase from 2011
Ranked #1 in Rushing D with 1320 yards allowed (82.5)
Finished dead last on pass D allowing 294 yards per game average allowing 30 TD's
+3 on Turnovers which is a drastic improvement from the -16 of 2011.
Finished Top 10 in Total Offense (10th Pass 15th Rush)
Ranked last on return yards (680) with 45yards the longest ST return. (2010 Top 10)

As for the draft:
Focussed on the Secondary & the D-Line.


Conclusion: With a immediate upgrade on their weakness with the pass D and already a stingy rush D, expect the Buccs to be extremely competitive in the NFC South with a potent O which can muster a winning score to hold off the opposition provided they don't give up the turnover late in the game. In games decided by 7 points or LESS from the 2012 season, the Buccs were 3-6 with one game going in OT. 3-5 record @ home. Overall 7-9. Scored over 30 FIVe times but conceeded 30+ on five occasions as well. In 2013, will face ten teams with a losing record from 2012. 3-3 in NFC South.
 
ausbacker said:
I don't know about you Woodson but I'm looking forward to seeing this Bucs D with their upgraded secondary. If Freeman plays to the level he's capable of, Tampa should be in for a good season.
Click to expand...

I agree wholeheartedly. Let you know I took Doug Martin in the pre-season Alpha draft after talking up Richardson as my smokescreen.

On top of that.. let you know the Buccs are sorta my 'pet team' ;)... won a slab from Mr Non-believe ( Chism say Hi :D )...

I'm not willing to come out and say they're a SB contender this upcoming season but I would not be in the least surprised if they press the Falcons for the Division title. Wildcard shot absolutely.
 
Here's the recap on the Buccs 2013 Draft



Really honing in on the Pass D that completely STUNK it up last season (stone cold motherless last)
I agree with the reviewer here, that they didn't add another WR to their stocks.
 
Bizarre to say the least...

Bucs face huge potential liability in junk-fax lawsuit


fax.jpg


The Broncos could end up being the team with only the second worst offseason fax-machine faux pas.

According to Peter Jamison of the Tampa Bay Times, the Buccaneers have been sued in federal court for violating the statute prohibiting junk faxes.

Yes, there’s a Junk Fax Protection Act of 2005, which imposes a $500 fine for every fax that is sent to someone who didn’t want it. The lawsuit, a class action with Cin-Q Automobiles of Gainesville as the named plaintiff, claims that 180,000 different people received junk faxes. The fine, which can indeed be enforced by a private lawsuit, is $500 per violation.

That’s $90 million in potential liability, unless the Buccaneers can prove an “established business relationship” with any, some, or all of the recipients. This would cut the total exposure down at $500 per recipient, but it requires among other things a clear and effective “opt out” procedure, and clear and conspicuous notification on the first page of the fax for blocking future messages.

If it’s deemed that the Buccaneers willfully and knowingly violated the Junk Fax Protection Act, the damages can be tripled (or trebled, for the folks who prefer it fancy). That’s total potential liability of $270 million.Though the suit was filed this week, the alleged violations occurred in 2009, when attendance at Raymond James Stadium first began to seriously dip.

While this one has a long way to go, the worst-case scenario is bad enough to make more than a few people lose sleep at One Buc Place.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

GG said:
Bizarre to say the least...

Bucs face huge potential liability in junk-fax lawsuit


fax.jpg


The Broncos could end up being the team with only the second worst offseason fax-machine faux pas.

According to Peter Jamison of the Tampa Bay Times, the Buccaneers have been sued in federal court for violating the statute prohibiting junk faxes.

Yes, there’s a Junk Fax Protection Act of 2005, which imposes a $500 fine for every fax that is sent to someone who didn’t want it. The lawsuit, a class action with Cin-Q Automobiles of Gainesville as the named plaintiff, claims that 180,000 different people received junk faxes. The fine, which can indeed be enforced by a private lawsuit, is $500 per violation.

That’s $90 million in potential liability, unless the Buccaneers can prove an “established business relationship” with any, some, or all of the recipients. This would cut the total exposure down at $500 per recipient, but it requires among other things a clear and effective “opt out” procedure, and clear and conspicuous notification on the first page of the fax for blocking future messages.

If it’s deemed that the Buccaneers willfully and knowingly violated the Junk Fax Protection Act, the damages can be tripled (or trebled, for the folks who prefer it fancy). That’s total potential liability of $270 million.Though the suit was filed this week, the alleged violations occurred in 2009, when attendance at Raymond James Stadium first began to seriously dip.

While this one has a long way to go, the worst-case scenario is bad enough to make more than a few people lose sleep at One Buc Place.
Click to expand...

:eek: wow... that's one heck of a faux pas... I'll have to send a fax to my FF GM's to make sure they don't fall into the same trap. :p
 
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tampa-bay-bucs-doug-martin-become-nfls-best-203600492.html
Following a sensational rookie campaign, in which he amassed nearly 2,000 total yards, it is entirely fair to ask if Doug Martin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can emerge as the best running back in the NFL.
Click to expand...
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tampa-bay-bucs-doug-martin-become-nfls-best-203600492.html

GG
You really need to follow BigFooty rules.
THink of the potential law suits.

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/help/terms
5. Keep it referenced. When posting articles from other sites you must give due recognition to the source including a link if possible. Keep the posting to headline; link; excerpt up to a paragraph; link. Posting of articles without considered comment (ie posting every article from a particular journal) is not permitted. Frac: Warning to Serious
Click to expand...
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/help/terms
 
Another big let down today after being in the improbable winning position in Seattle.

Not all bad signs though...

Mike James looks a likely bit of depth behind Martin and Glennon is slowly starting to click.

How long has Schiano got in him?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Mike Glennon is playing Greg Schiano’s brand of football


350x-111.jpg


The Buccaneers have gone from laughingstocks of the NFL early this season to playing good football recently, and the progress of rookie quarterback Mike Glennon has been a big part of that.

Coach Greg Schiano said today that Glennon, whom Schiano installed as the starting quarterback after benching Josh Freeman after Week Three, has proved that he’s the man for the job.

“I have a ton of belief in Mike Glennon,” Schiano said.

Schiano’s biggest mistake this season may have been his decision to start Freeman early in the year only to go through a messy divorce, instead of simply turning the team over to Glennon from the beginning. It was obvious early on that Schiano didn’t think highly of Freeman and did think highly of Glennon, and it was odd that Schiano kept insisting through the offseason and early in the regular season that Freeman was his man. Schiano should have simply acknowledged what many people thought: Glennon was a Schiano man and Freeman was not.

Now Glennon is playing well, and he’s particularly playing the kind of turnover-free football that Schiano likes. Glennon has thrown just one interception in the Buccaneers’ last five games.

In fact, Glennon is throwing so few interceptions that Schiano was asked at his press conference today whether Glennon is too cautious with the ball. In Schiano’s view, Glennon is taking some shots downfield, but he’s taking them at smart times.

“You can get to be that way, but Mike hasn’t,” Schiano said when asked whether Glennon has become too safe. “I don’t think that’s an issue with Mike. Mike will rip it in there with tight coverage. But what he’s not done is rip it in there with tight coverage and a man behind, and that’s where you get the tipped passes and interceptions and that kind of thing.”

With Glennon playing well, the Buccaneers have proven themselves to be a tough team to beat. No one saw that coming a couple months ago.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top